Could Brad Stevens Being Snubbed a Coach of the Year Vote Provide an Extra Edge Against the Cavaliers?

For you NBA savants, Brad Stevens not getting ONE SINGLE Coach of the Year vote from his peers is not new news.

Dwayne Casey, the ex-Toronto Raptors head coach who was fired after an embarrassing 4-0 sweep at the hands of Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, won Coach of the Year.

Yes, that is quite the sentence.

I feel as if a coach who is voted the best in his or her respective league should never get fired that same year under any circumstance. Can you imagine if Tom Brady was released from the New England Patriots after he just won the MVP award this past season (okay, maybe not the best example, but you get my point)?

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I feel that a Coach of the Year candidate should A) be a good coach and B) make the playoffs (or at least have a much-improved record from the previous season).

With that said, how does Doc Rivers receive more than zero votes for being one of the top coaches in the league? I don’t care if he got the best out of his team with a less-talented roster than other teams – Brad Stevens did it better.

If I were a Celtics staff member or player, I would print this out and slap it on every locker and door at TD Garden and maybe even tape it to the backboards just to remind everyone that this man was snubbed.

Being handed adversity on a platter can only motivate this team to play their best basketball of the season.

Stevens, being the humble man that he is, took the high road when asked about this award.

“All the other stuff, like the coaching votes and everything else,” Stevens said, “the way that thing works is you get one vote. And I’m telling you I looked down the sheet and there’s no way that I would have voted for me over any of the other 29 people and the guy that should have won got it. And those other guys that get votes, they’re unbelievable. I’m stealing from those guys all the time.

“It’s so incredible to have an opportunity to be one of 30, and I think it’s a lot more important to just focus on competing with your team rather than trying to compare yourself to others. Becuase I’m telling you if it gets to be a comparison contest, I’m screwed.”

Stevens also noted how much he appreciated the support he received from former players on social media.

“So first of all, I think you know me well enough to know that all that stuff just doesn’t … so anyways, it means a lot more to me when I get a text message from or you hear something nice said from a former player,” Stevens said, referring to the support from Isaiah Thomas and Evan Turner. ”(Isaiah and Evan) know how much I appreciate and like them and enjoyed our times together so that means a lot.”

With all this being said, however, the Coach of the Year award doesn’t help you win NBA championships.

At the end of the day, the Boston Celtics will be facing off against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Brad Stevens doesn’t need a silly vote from his peers to go out and do what he does best (which is pretty much everything).

Now, let’s sit back and relax and get ready for a [hopefully] thrilling Eastern Conference Finals.